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EP-4740227-A1 - MODULAR ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTUATOR FOR POSITIONING MOVEMENTS ALONG A CURVED MOVEMENT PATH

EP4740227A1EP 4740227 A1EP4740227 A1EP 4740227A1EP-4740227-A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator for positioning movements along a curved movement path, in particular a circular path. In order to be able to be used more in a more versatile way than known solutions, the actuator according to the invention comprises: a. at least one magnet module (2a, 2b) which has a magnetic gap; b. at least one coil module (3a, 3b) which has a solenoid coil; c. a magnet carrier (4) which has a plurality of magnet module couplings (4a, 4b) for being coupled to each magnet module (2a, 2b); and d. a coil carrier (5) which is movable, in particular rotatable, relative to the magnet carrier (4) and has a plurality of coil module couplings (5a, 5b) for being coupled to each coil module (3a, 3b). The modules (2a, 2b; 3a, 3b) can be coupled to the module couplings (4a, 4b) in such a way that the solenoid coil of a coil module (3a, 3b) coupled to a coil module coupling (5a, 5b) is arranged in the magnetic gap of a magnet module (2a, 2b) coupled to an associated magnet module coupling (4a, 4b), so that when an electric current is applied to this solenoid coil, the coil carrier (5) moves along the movement path (B) relative to the magnet carrier (4) due to a magnetic force acting between the magnet module (2a, 2b) and the coil module (3a, 3b).

Inventors

  • Volz, Tillmann
  • BINDER, PAUL

Assignees

  • Physik Instrumente (PI) SE & Co. KG

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240618

Claims (18)

  1. 1. Electromagnetic actuator (1) for positioning movements along a curved movement path (B), in particular a circular path, comprising: a. At least one magnet module (2a, 2b) with a magnetic gap. b. At least one coil module (3a, 3b) with a magnetic coil. c. A magnet carrier (4) with a plurality of magnet module couplings (4a, 4b) for coupling to a respective magnet module (2a, 2b). d. A coil carrier (5) which is movable, in particular rotatable, relative to the magnet carrier (4) and has a plurality of coil module couplings (5a, 5b) for coupling to a respective coil module (3a, 3b). wherein the modules (2a, 2b; 3a, 3b) can be coupled to the module couplings (4a, 4b) in such a way that a magnetic coil of a coil module (3a, 3b) coupled to a coil module coupling (5a, 5b) is arranged in the magnetic gap of a magnet module (2a, 2b) coupled to an associated magnet module coupling (4a, 4b), so that when an electric current is applied to this magnet coil, the coil carrier (5) moves along the movement path (B) relative to the magnet carrier (4) due to a magnetic force acting between the magnet module (2a, 2b) and the coil module (3a, 3b).
  2. 2. Actuator (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the magnet modules (2a, 2b) and magnet module couplings (4a, 4b) have uniform interfaces so that each magnet module (2a, 2b) can be coupled to any magnet module coupling (4a, 4b) or that the coil modules (3a, 3b) and coil module couplings (5a, 5b) have uniform interfaces so that each coil module (3a, 3b) can be coupled to any coil module coupling (5a, 5b), wherein preferably each magnet module (2a, 2b) is designed identically or each coil module (3a, 3b) is designed identically.
  3. 3. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the magnet carrier (4) has a housing or is designed as a housing, preferably made of magnetic steel or plastic, wherein preferably each magnet module (2a, 2b) coupled to the magnet carrier (4) is arranged in the interior of the housing, wherein particularly preferably each magnet module coupling (4a, 4b) is designed in a slot- or pocket-shaped receptacle in a housing wall.
  4. 4. Actuator (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the coil carrier (5) is arranged movably, in particular rotatably, in the housing, wherein the coil carrier (5) is preferably designed as a shaft rotatably mounted in the housing wherein each coil module (3a, 3b) coupled to the coil carrier (5) is preferably arranged inside the housing.
  5. 5. Actuator (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the housing has a cover (7) through which the coil carrier (5) can be inserted into the housing or removed from the housing.
  6. 6. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the magnet carrier (4) or the coil carrier (5) has a lever (8) in order to transmit the magnetic force generated between the magnet module (2a, 2b) and the coil module (3a, 3b) to an element to be driven (13), preferably by stepping up or down, wherein the lever (8) preferably protrudes from the housing, wherein particularly preferably a radial dimension of the lever (8) with respect to an axis of rotation (X) of the coil carrier (5) relative to the magnet carrier (4) is larger or smaller than the radial dimension of the coil module (3a, 3b) coupled to the coil carrier (5) or the radial dimension of a center of gravity of the respective magnet coil.
  7. 7. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the magnet modules (2a, 2b) has two preferably part-circular permanent magnet arrangements which are arranged opposite one another in pairs in order to form the magnetic gap, wherein each permanent magnet arrangement is preferably designed as a Halbach array, wherein the Halbach arrays are particularly preferably arranged such that the magnetic flux is increased within the magnetic gap and weakened outside the magnetic gap.
  8. 8. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the coil modules (3a, 3b) has a preferably circular segment-shaped circuit board or is designed as such, wherein the magnetic coil is preferably designed as an etched conductor track of this circuit board and is thus integrated into the circuit board, wherein the circuit board is preferably constructed in multiple layers and particularly preferably has several layers, each with at least one etched conductor track, in order to form one or more, in particular parallel, magnetic coils.
  9. 9. Actuator (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the magnetic coil has three conductor tracks which are nested one inside the other and electrically insulated from one another, so that a 3-phase control of the magnetic coil is possible.
  10. 10. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two of the magnet module couplings (4a, 4b) or at least two of the coil module couplings (5a, 5b) along the movement path (B) or in the circumferential direction are spaced apart from one another with respect to a rotation axis (X) of the coil carrier (5) relative to the magnet carrier (4).
  11. 11. Actuator (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the magnetic coils of two coil modules (3a, 3b) coupled to the coil carrier (5) are arranged in the magnetic gap of the same magnetic module (2a, 2b) coupled to the magnetic carrier (4).
  12. 12. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two of the magnet module couplings (4a, 4b) or at least two of the coil module couplings (5a, 5b) are spaced apart from one another transversely to the movement path (B) or along an axis of rotation (X) of the coil carrier (5) relative to the magnet carrier (4).
  13. 13. Actuator (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the magnet carrier (4) is coupled to a plurality of magnet modules (2a, 2b) or the coil carrier (5) is coupled to a plurality of coil modules (3a, 3b), wherein the modules (2a, 2b; 3a, 3b) are preferably arranged symmetrically to one another, preferably with respect to a plane of symmetry aligned perpendicular to the axis of rotation (X) or a plane of symmetry enclosing the axis of rotation (X).
  14. 14. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuator (1) has at least one device for weight force compensation, wherein the device for weight force compensation generates a torque which counteracts a torque applied to the coil carrier (5), resulting from its own weight and a payload, wherein the device for weight force compensation is preferably designed as a magnetic constant force spring, wherein preferably several devices for weight force compensation are arranged in parallel between the magnet carrier (4) and the coil carrier (5).
  15. 15. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuator (1) has a device for determining the position of the coil carrier (5) relative to the magnet carrier (4), wherein the device for determining the position is preferably arranged within the housing.
  16. 16. Actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuator (1) has a device for recording and processing measurement or operating data relevant to the state of the actuator (1), which is designed to record and process the measurement or operating data during operation of the actuator (1) and optionally to link them with one another, so that an image of the state of the actuator (1) can be derived therefrom.
  17. 17. Parallel kinematic positioning device (10), comprising at least one actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, for driving a movable positioning unit (12) relative to a base (11).
  18. 18. Parallel kinematic positioning device (10) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it is designed as a tri- or hexapod and three or six leg elements of constant length are arranged between the base (11) and the movable positioning unit (12) in the form of a platform, wherein the respective end of a leg element facing away from the platform is articulated to the lever (8) of the actuator (1), and the respective end of a leg element facing towards the platform is articulated to the platform.

Description

Modular electromagnetic actuator for positioning movements along a curved path The present invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator for positioning movements along a curved movement path, in particular a circular path. A rotary actuator with a large number of stacked coil and magnet segments is known from CN113422492B, among others. The coils are conventionally wound in a cake shape and adhesively attached to a common part-circular coil carrier in order to form a rotary drive with a limited stroke in combination with circular segment-shaped magnets. An actuator with conventionally wound coils is significantly more expensive, especially for large quantities. Previous actuators do not allow for easy scalability. Conventionally wound coils have low rigidity in the planar plane. The position of the copper wire in the coil winding has high tolerances. The present invention is based on the object of improving an electromagnetic actuator of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that it is cost-effective and can be used in a more versatile manner than the solutions known from the prior art. To solve this problem, the present invention provides the electromagnetic actuator according to claim 1. An electromagnetic actuator for positioning movements along a curved movement path, in particular a circular path, is disclosed, comprising: at least one magnet module with a magnetic gap; at least one coil module with a magnetic coil; a magnet carrier with a plurality of magnet module couplings for coupling to a respective magnet module; a coil carrier that is movable, in particular rotatable, relative to the magnet carrier and has a plurality of coil module couplings for coupling to a respective coil module, wherein the modules can be coupled to the module couplings in such a way that the magnetic coil of a coil module coupled to a coil module coupling is arranged in the magnetic gap of a magnet module coupled to an associated magnet module coupling, so that when an electric current is applied to this magnet coil, the coil carrier moves along the movement path relative to the magnet carrier due to a magnetic force acting between the magnet module and the coil module. The actuator according to the invention is designed as a modular kit. The modules can preferably be detachably coupled to the magnet carrier or the coil carrier via module couplings. The actuator can therefore be equipped with the desired modules for a specific application. and configured. If the modules are detachably coupled to the module couplings, the number of modules and/or the module arrangement can be changed later. By moving the modules or changing the number of modules, the actuator travel along the movement path or the drive force generated by the actuator along the movement path can be individually adjusted. The use of the modules and the provision of several module couplings significantly reduce the manufacturing costs. Scaling the drive, i.e. increasing the torque, is easily possible by coupling additional modules via the available module couplings. The modules preferably have a high level of rigidity in the planar plane, which has a positive effect on the overall rigidity of the actuator. Advantageous further training is the subject of dependent claims. It can be advantageous if the magnet modules and magnet module couplings have uniform interfaces so that each magnet module can be coupled to any magnet module coupling and/or if the coil modules and coil module couplings have uniform interfaces so that each coil module can be coupled to any coil module coupling, preferably with each magnet module being identical and/or each coil module being identical. As a result, the actuator requires a minimal number of different components. By moving or changing the number of magnet modules and/or coil modules, the actuator can be configured particularly easily for specific applications. It can prove useful if the magnet carrier has a housing or is designed as a housing, with each magnet module coupled to the magnet carrier preferably being arranged inside the housing, with each magnet module coupling particularly preferably being designed in a slot- or pocket-shaped receptacle in a housing wall. In this design, the magnet carrier also fulfills the function of a protective housing in which the magnet modules can be accommodated safely and protected from environmental influences. The use of magnetic steel as the housing material is advantageous because it allows the modules accommodated inside to be shielded from magnetic influences from the environment. In addition, plastics are conceivable as the housing material, from which more complex geometries can be realized comparatively easily, for example by means of an injection molding or an additive process (e.g. 3D printing). In particular when using Halbach arrays for permanent magnet arrangements of the magnet modules, other non-magnetic materials can be used as the housing material. The hous